A medical school in New York plans to go tuition-free after a generous$1,000,000,000 donation. The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a private school inthe Bronx, New York. It is ranked 13th out of the best medical schools in the United States for academic medicine and biomedical research. It is very prestigious and selective, with an acceptance rate of 4.3%. Previously, tuition was more than $59,000 a year; after graduating, about 50% of its students owed more than $200,000, according to the college. There are currently 1,232 full-time students enrolled at Einstein College. Einstein has also been a part of Montefiore Medical Center, the largest employer in the Bronx.
Ruth Gottesman, 93, has been associated with the school for the past 55 years. She became a professor and studied learning disabilities. She is now the chair of the board of trustees for Einstein. Dr. Gottesman is the widow of Wall Street financier David Gottesman, who also was the protege of Warren Buffett. After his passing in 2022, Ruth was left with a fortune. “He left me, unbeknownst to me, a whole portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway stock,” she said. The instructions were simple: “Do whatever you think is right with it,” she recalled. Forbes estimated that he was worth about $3 billion around his time of death.
On February 26, Ruth Gottesman donated $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “We have terrific medical students, but this will open it up for many other students whose economic status is such that they wouldn’t even think about going to medical school,” she said. “That’s what makes me very happy about this gift,” she added. According to Einstein, this is the largest donation that has ever been made to a medical school. The school also announced that all current fourth-year students will be reimbursed for their spring 2024 semester tuition. The donation is significant because it went to the only medical school in the poorest and unhealthiest county in New York, not a top school in Manhattan that gets regularly gifted by billionaires. According to studies, the Bronx has the highest rates of diabetes and increased rates of childhood asthma due to air pollution, mold, cockroach particles, diesel exhaust from truck traffic, and more. The Bronx also has the fewest primary care physicians in any borough.
Upon receiving the news, students jumped out of their chairs and cheered, some even began to cry. “This transformational gift is intended to attract a talented and diverse pool of individuals who may not otherwise have the means to pursue a medical education,” the school said, adding, “It will enable generations of healthcare leaders who will advance the boundaries of research and care, free from the burden of crushing loan indebtedness.” Because of Ruth Gottesman’s gift, medical students’ lives have been changed significantly.
